Mr. Hong wheeled himself into the midst of the villagers and saw a Cloud-Piercing Arrow rise into the distant sky.
He could not help worrying about Yue'e and Lin Feng.
Mr. Hong sighed and said, "The horse bandits have all gone after the Lin Family.
"The Iron Rod Gang still doesn't know that you killed their men.
"Folks, hide for now. Get as far away as you can, and come back once the storm has passed."
Although Mr. Hong had not been in the village for long, he was educated and had taught the village children to read and write.
Even though he rarely showed his face around the village, he held considerable prestige.
Mr. Hong's words awakened the villagers.
"Listen to Mr. Hong."
"Everyone, hurry home and pack. Leave now."
"Right, get out before the Iron Rod Gang realizes what happened."
"Go home and pack your things."
After exchanging a few words, all the villagers left.
A little boy Mr. Hong had taught asked, "Sir, aren't you leaving?"
Mr. Hong smiled kindly. "I'm leaving too. I'll go once your Sister Yue'e returns. Hurry and leave with your family."
In the end, only Mr. Hong and several unattended corpses remained.
Mr. Hong wheeled himself back home, took out paper and a brush, and wrote several lines.
He then rolled up the paper and stuffed it into a small bamboo tube.
Next, he went to the backyard and brought out a cage containing a carrier pigeon.
Mr. Hong tied the bamboo tube to the pigeon's leg, then opened the cage.
With a flutter of wings, the carrier pigeon soared into the sky.
Mr. Hong muttered to himself, "This is utterly outrageous. Qinghe County needs a new administrator."
Mr. Hong was fully qualified to say such words, because he was a